By Chris Wright
Everton defender Leighton Baines has joined Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell and Seamus Coleman in signing a new long-term contract with the club this summer.
Baines, who has put pen to paper on a five-year deal that will see him tied to the club until 2015, told the club’s official website;
“It was simple, it would’ve been done sooner if I hadn’t been on holiday.
I still had two years left so wasn’t really thinking about it but David Moyes said to me at the end of last season that I had done well and he wanted to reward me with a new contract, which was great.
It is nice to have it sorted before we go away to Australia [pre-season tour] because I can focus on the football and not have anything going on in the background.”
In other Blues news..
…Everton have also secured the signing of Strasbourg’s French U21 forward Magaye Gueye for an undisclosed fee.
The 19-year-old is the third striker to join the Toffees over the summer, with Jermaine Beckford and Joao Silva also arriving from Leeds and Aves respectively.